They didn’t make him wait long. Twenty or so minutes later, the door clicked open.
Roche entered, followed by a man James immediately recognized as Agent Banks. Great, James thought. The head honcho and his number two come to play with their prey.
“You’d think I was dangerous, with all this binding,” James said before Roche could speak. He rattled the cuffs behind his back to make his point.
Roche towered over him, unsmiling. He glanced back at the door, which Agent Banks had shut behind him, then back at James. His fist flashed forward before James could register it.
James’s head snapped to the side and pain exploded in his cheek. He grunted, and the chair rocked beneath him. He shook his head and looked at Roche with disbelief. Had the calm, cool-headed man really just punched him?
“What the hell?” James spat out a glob of blood.
“I don’t like being played with, Bolt,” Roche said. His voice was low, dangerous. “I don’t like having my trust broken.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Was I supposed to play along with the man who arrested me for doing nothing wrong?”
Whap. The next punch came from the left, and James’s head snapped the other way. He did his best to keep quiet but still let out a grunt of pain. Both of his cheeks throbbed.
“Where did you go?” Roche demanded.
“Vacation. Felt a bit overworked.”
Wham. This one was straight on, connecting with James’s nose. He felt something crack, and blood began pouring down his chin. He blinked away stinging tears, his vision blurry.
“Jesus, Roche,” Agent Banks murmured from the door.
Roche held up his hand, massaging his knuckles, breathing heavily. James had never expected to see the calm, cool man so angry. He hadn’t even thought he could get angry.
“Four of my men were killed in your escape. Every sign points to Super intervention. Tell me what you know, Bolt. Or it’s going to be a long night for you.”
James sighed, breathing through his mouth, his nose stinging. He thought hard—and fast. Roche was just after the Supers. He had government backing, a lot of power. Maybe if he knew the truth about Calico... What was the old saying? The enemy of my enemy is my friend?
He met Roche’s eyes. As much as he hated this man, now more than ever, he needed his help.
“We were rescued,” James said slowly. “By the Supers, yes, but not all of them. Calico, Tonitrus, Myrcellus, Afectrus... and Mungus.” And Auri, he thought but didn’t say her name. “They betrayed the others. Calico orchestrated the disaster in New York, everything. He captured the others, somehow subdued them. He’s after something...” James took a breath. He didn’t want to tell Roche this, but he had to. “He’s after the Chintamani Stone. He thinks he can use it to give others powers, to build an unstoppable army of Supers. We have to stop him.”
Roche was silent for several moments, his eyes narrowed as if he was trying to process what James had said. Then, slowly, he started nodding, and James relaxed, relieved.
Whap. Roche’s fist connected with the side of James’s head so hard his whole body pitched to the side, bringing the chair with him. He tipped over, his shoulder slamming into the ground with a bone-rattling thud. He gasped, his head spinning, pain erupting in both his head and shoulder.
“Pick him up.” Roche’s voice came from above him. Agent Banks stepped forward and heaved James and the chair back into an upright position.
James breathed heavily, the room spinning around him. “I’m telling the truth!”
“I don’t like being played with,” Roche said, his voice dangerously low.
“I’m not lying!” James said, frustrated. What couldn’t the man understand? “I saw them in tubes, unconscious. Calico told me his plans, and I barely escaped!”
“I think you’re a liar.” Roche crouched, his face so close to James’s they nearly touched. “This nonsense with the stone, a common Nepali myth. I think you know exactly where the Supers are, and you’re planning something. Maybe they sent you here on purpose.”
“Roche,” James said, forcing his voice to stay level, calm. “This is important. If Calico gets the stone, nobody can stop him. Not you, not me, not the whole damn U.S. Army.”
Roche stood and turned to Agent Banks. “Gag him. I’m sick of hearing his lies.”
Agent Banks stared blankly at Roche for several moments, and James was sure he was about to disobey. But then he stepped forward, pulling a square cloth from his pocket. He forced it into James’s mouth and tied it behind his head. He couldn’t believe this. How could Roche be so stupid?
“I think it’d be good for you to spend some quality time alone in here,” Roche said, glancing around the sparse room. “Maybe you can think about the situation you’re in, and when I return, we can have a more... productive talk.”
With that, he left. Agent Banks followed. But before he closed the door, he paused. Their eyes met for a moment, and it seemed Agent Banks would say something. Then he disappeared, shutting the door behind him.
James was left alone, bound by his hands and feet and gagged. Both of his cheeks smarted and his head felt fuzzy, like it was filled with cotton. He was angry. Angry at himself for getting caught, angry at Roche for refusing to believe him, angry at Calico for being a power-hungry maniac. Wasn’t just being a Super, being able to fly around and do cool stuff, enough? He really had to add world domination on top of that?
James pulled hard, trying to dislodge his hands from the cuffs. But they were much too tight, and he soon gave up. He stared at the wall, his thoughts thick and slow in his buzzing head. There had to be a way out of this. There had to be.
JAMES STIRRED. HE MUST have fallen asleep without noticing.
